Austin AU790BB Eclipse 5-String

2001 Austin 5-string, Korean made.
Let me say up front, I was a manual laborer in the wood manufacturing business for a number of years so I can recognize wood typs by sound and feel. Now for the truth about this bass.
The top is laminated. No, to be more precise, it's veneer. You know, like the wood-patterned veneer on counter tops and desktops. I should have known, since under close inspection you can't see any pores in the grain. I was curious about the light weight in comparison to other 5-string basses (including one I previously owned) so I opened the control cavity and discovered this instrument's unspoken secret. It is made from plywood. Twelve sheets of 1/8th-inch thin plywood, cut into the shape of a bass guitar, with flame maple veneer on the top and back (the Kramer Focus 420 is similarly made). The neck is real maple, fretboard looks like rosewood. Passive, garden variety, not-ready-for-Radio Shack electronics configured as two volumes and one tone. Two pickups beneath wide plastic covers. Remove the covers and you'll find a garden variety single coil beneath each. 34-inch scale length. The tuners are solid. Previous reviews indicate two things. Those guys never bothered to look inside their control cavities to see what they purchased, and they've never owned a quality bass. Oh my God, we were ROBBED!

This instrument would make a good practice bass for anyone just entering the 5-string world. Buy a small practice amp and you can play it in a hotel room without disturbing the neighbors. I travel with it for that purpose. Having owned a decent, real wood 5-string bass I can honestly say the Austin sounds like what it is--a cheap 5-string bass. This instrument's output is weak, which is a characteristic of plywood. The strings do vibrate, though. Here's a decent comparison: Austin vs. any real-wood passive 5-string in the store. Real wood rings, that should tell you why you shouldn't even pick the Austin. I'll bet the salespeople don't know how this bass is made. Whether played through my Ampeg B328, Laney H60B or Aria practice amp this thing pales in comparison to my real-wood baby. (Carbon fiber and composite basses are seperate issues).

What fit & finish? It's plywood with a veneered top and back finished with industrial clearcoat. Your office desk probably resonates better than this thing, but never looked so shiny. The pickups sit on foam, long wood screws hold them in, that's your adjustment. Again, I used to work with wood for a living so a 7 for plywood is like a 10 for real wood.

You can't get plywood wet. Moisture will cause it to swell and seperate. That's probably why the clearcoat is so thick. It should never rub off. Don't drop it, though. I can't gig with it but I can (and do) practice with it. After you've gigged with real wood you can't bear to stand in front of people with anything less (you CAN hear the difference). You could use it for backup if it was the only other bass you had, but you'd probably try to earn enough money to get a real wood bass for that purpose if you gig alot.

Who needs customer support for plywood?

I started playing bass three years ago with a Peavey Fury and upgraded to a Washburn XB500 5-string, alder-bodied gem. Traded it for a guitar, now I want it back. Own a Hohner fretless B-Bass, alder body. From now on I will ask the salesperson to remove the control cavity so I can see for myself what the instrument is made of. If it were stolen or lost I'd laugh. I compared ot to other 5-strings in the store but paid more attention to price and appearance than to the sound. The longer I had it the more wanting it became. If you are interested in buying an Austin bass ask to look inside it first! Make sure you want to spend more than 300 bucks on Asian plywood.

my austin eclipse 5-string was made in 2001 in korea,it is a 22 1/2 fret with a laminated top it has 2 soapbar pick ups 2 volume 1 tone knob config.,it has the austin model pickups and is passive elec.,the neck is rock maple with a rosewood fretboard the finish is teal grean translucent over flamed tiger maple,the bridge is standard but could easily be made string thru body,it has non locking tuners but there so sturdy it hasnt dropped tune in 3 months.

this bass suits almost any style of music ive played everything from blugrass and country on it to stuff like linkin park and canibal corpse,i plug it through a peavey mark 6 stack 800watts no effects cause it dont need them,the only noise it generates is the pickups cause a low hiss when compression is applied,this bass can put forth what ever sound you want once you figure out the hot spots for the tone,like i said earlier you can get every thing from a country pound to a latin smooth groove machine to a growling death metal flame thrower,its great on stage lite and comfortable my only dislike is the d&g strings are weaker sounding then the rest of the strings

the action from factory was great rode the fret board but had no buzz from the frets,the pick ups where adjusted well but i readjust them for what genre of music i'll be playing, there werent any flaws body wise or hardware wise but the neck is not laminated so your hands do cause some discoleration on the back of the neck

i have played this bass live since june and havent even changed strings and it sounds great,the hardware looks like its never been touched no signs of ruct or tarnish anytime soon,the fish looks loike it will last forever really thick clearcoat for those of you who like to look strictly professional,the strap buttons are very sturdy and have thick felt between them and the body to keep them from diggin in or scratching your finish,so far it has been dependable never had to adjust nothing and yes i would play gig it without a back up

ive never dealt with the company but would love to get in contact with them to see i can endorse a model i like it that much ,the palce where i got it detatches warranty cards cause they suck so i dont know if it has warranty or not but it was new cause it still had plastic on it

ive played this bass loyaly for 11 months now,i wish i had asked how to contact the company,if this bass where lost or stolen i would buy another one i would have to go to a shop and play everything there before id buy a different name brand,i love everything about this bass especially the playability and the finish it flatout rocks,i compared it to lots of other bass such as ibanez sr405,esp ltd models,mex fenders,peavey cirrus5,washburn i chose this one because it was lighter sounded just as good and wasnt as hard on the hand not to mention a lot cheaper of a price tag,i only wish this bass had 2 extra things neck thru body and active electronics!

2 Volume 1 tone knob, Maple Neck/Rosewood Fret board. 22 frets, blue some what sunburst

If your into alterna-Metal this is a primo bass. Thick sounding, solid. Nice and punchy. I play it though a Sunn 300 Colosium Amp. And it has a nice mix of bright and punchy, yet dark. The low B really kicks.

From factory it was perfect, didnt have any flaws, Well made bass.

I am playing my first show with this bass March 2nd. But so far this has been very reliable. The strap buttons are very solid, I am gonna take a back up to this show... If I cannot use my Austin the screw it I wont play.

Havent need to deal with comp.

I just love the sound this bass puts out, nice pickups nice punch. I upgraded from a 4 string Peavey Fury which weights about 14 lbs.. Its a freaking brick. First time I grabbed my Austin I almost lost over my head cause I was expecting it to weight more being a 5 string. This bass is very light. Great for going wild. I love it.